Angry Franson to get his shot

Cody Franson had a vision of how his first season with the Toronto Maple Leafs would unfold.

Suffice it to say his vision did not include being a healthy scratch for the first two games of the year.

"It's like a swift kick in the (groin)," Franson said. "My mindset coming here was, I had worked really hard this summer and I wanted to be a guy who plays a lot of minutes for this team. I want to be accountable and reliable.

“I had a lot of confidence coming here and to not be in the lineup for the first two games was a huge shock. It hasn't been the easiest thing to deal with. I take a lot of pride in my job and to have it taken away for those two games was tough to deal with.

"It was very difficult. I thought I was going to be one of the guys who would take charge and help the team go in the right direction. It's just one of those things that it didn't happen to work out that way and I had to deal with that," Franson said.

Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson said Franson would be inserted into the lineup Saturday night when Toronto hosts the Calgary Flames, but did not reveal who is coming out.

The 6-foot-5, 213-pound Salmon Arm, B.C., native was Nashville's third choice (79th overall) in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft and spent two season playing for Milwaukee of the American Hockey League before graduating to play for the Predators.

Franson was traded to the Maple Leafs, along with centre Matthew Lombardi and future considerations, for defencemen Brett Lebda, Robert Slaney and future considerations last July. The 24-year old scored six goals and 21 points in 61 games two years ago and last season fired eight goals and 29 points in 80 games.

Franson said he was totally blindsided by the decision to sit him out in Toronto's first two games -- a pair of wins over Montreal and Ottawa.

"They didn't say anything to me," Franson said. "The way I found out was I watched one of Ron Wilson's interviews on the computer and he was asked a question about Fratts (Matt Frattin) and he thought they were asking about me. He said I was the seventh guy and I was like, 'Really?' I didn't sleep very much that night, to say the least.

"I called my dad first, because he's just as competitive as I am, and dad's reaction was to get angry. That didn't help me at all because I was already angry. It's just the way we are. I also called my agent to see if he'd heard anything about why it was me not playing? At the end of the day, it's just a coach's decision. They told me to try to stay positive and to have a good attitude. They also said the most important thing for me is to always be a good team guy.

“The two years I was in Nashville I didn't play a lot. I was a 13-15 minute per game guy and I felt I could do a lot more. But it's all about the team; it's not about the individual. I had to suck it up and work so hopefully I won't be taken out again."

From the Maple Leafs coaching perspective, the six defencemen that played in the first two games -- captain Dion Phaneuf, John-Michael Liles, Mike Komisarek, Luke Schenn, Carl Gunnerson and 21-year-old rookie Jake Gardiner -- simply played better than Franson did in the pre-season.

That said, Franson played the left side in his first pre-season game, which he has never done before, and he also had to learn a new defensive system. It hasn't been easy, but he's pumped to get in against Calgary on Saturday.

"Maybe early on I'll keep it simple, but I want to put my best foot forward and make it tough for them to take me out again," Franson said. "I don't like watching games so I'm going to do my best to make it tough on them. They say it's about losing jobs and winning them back again and I don't intend to give mine up.

"I believe I can help all over the ice. I can get pucks to the net for our forwards. Any time you can generate shots it's going to generate opportunities to score and I think I do a good job of that.

“With the way they do things here it's different than in Nashville so defensively it's taken me a little time to get used to a new system, but I thought I had a pretty good grasp of it in my last exhibition game against Detroit so I think I can be a sound player defensively for this team."

Wilson believes having seven NHL-caliber defenceman -- eight if you count Keith Aulie with the AHL Marlies -- is a good thing and will cause a lot of competition for jobs.

"It's a positive thing," Wilson said. "I don't know a coach in the league who could ever say he has enough defencemen. Even if you have seven or eight NHL defenceman, it's usually not enough over the course of a season. The problem is managing their ice time and trying to keep guys happy or trying to keep them from grumbling about it because somebody is going to be out every night that probably should be playing. That's a good problem to have.

"We're trying to eliminate that sense of entitlement and outside of a couple of defenceman, if a guy has three or four bad games, then someone you might think would automatically be included in the lineup may find themselves watching a game. That's just the way it is."

Asked what Franson brings to the table, Wilson said lots.

"He's got to move pucks; play well defensively and I know he can help our power play for sure with the shot he has," the coach said. "He's just getting used to a different style of play. Nashville's style is good for the way they play, but not necessarily for how we want to play. I think he's getting a lot more comfortable. We've seen a lot of improvement in some of the defensive things that he has done in practice. Now he's got to do it in games."

Franson is happy to put the start of the year behind him and he's working on being in the right frame of mind for Saturday's game.

"It's tough to stay positive," he said. "You want to play so bad. You have all these expectations as well as pride. I thought this was finally my chance to be a big part of a team again. I want this to be my breakout year. I wanted to have a real good start and this has been a bump in the road I guess."

Veteran hockey columnist Mike Brophy will cover the Toronto Maple Leafs for sportsnet.ca for the 2011/12 season.